Kon Rodz Racing
Tire Shake Ends Kon Rodz Race Day Early
CONCORD, NC – Top Alcohol Funny Car team Kon Rodz Racing suffered a surprising first round loss at the NHRA Four-Wide 
Nationals last weekend after driver Cassie Simonton qualified a career-high No. 2. The Spiro Kontos-owned KonRodz entry was in race-winning form through qualifying, but tire smoke quickly ended the Canadian team’s weekend.
Simonton’s Randy Anderson-tuned Monte Carlo funny car overpowered the track on the first qualifying run. The Minnesota driver streaked to a 5.624/259 MPH lap, enough to sit in the No. 2 spot after day one of qualifying. The Kon Rodz machine improved further in the final qualifying session, running 5.587/260 MPH, which was low of the round by almost a tenth of a second. Simonton would start eliminations from the No. 2 spot, just four thousandths of a second behind No. 1 qualifier Steve Harker.
Simonton Going After First Win at Four-Wide Nationals
CONCORD, NC – Fan favorite Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Cassie Simonton is back at zMax Dragway for the NHRA Four-Wide 
Nationals this weekend to continue her quest for her first Wally. The immaculate Charlotte-area track has been good to the Kon Rodz Racing driver in the past, as the Minnesotan has run career-best elapsed times and speeds here. Simonton is hopeful to continue that trend after a disappointing Gatornationals outing that ended with a first round meeting with the retaining wall.
“We’re confident coming into this race. We know the car has a lot of power. We struggled a little bit in Gainesville, when I hit the wall. I’m glad to be back at Charlotte. We’ve always run our best performances here. I’m excited to get on the track on Friday and see what the car can run,” Simonton says.
Cassie and her Spiro Kontos-owned team have optimistic goals for the Four-Wide race, eager to improve the team’s best numbers.
Retaining Wall Hit Sidelines Simonton at Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, FlL – Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Cassie Simonton was uninjured following a run-in with the retaining wall at the NHRA Gatornationals. The first round incident was a disappointing end to an otherwise promising season-opening race for Simonton and her Kon Rodz Racing team.
“Testing went really well and the car was showing promise this weekend. Randy Anderson had the car running five-sixties so we can’t say it was a bad weekend. We’re optimistic about the way the car was running despite the first round loss,” Cassie said.
Simonton improved her numbers on every qualifying pass, ending with a 5.66 and 5.62 to qualify No. 11. She would face Dale Brand first round; the same first round opponent she lost to at last year’s Gatornationals.
Cassie left the starting line with her best reaction time of the weekend, but Brand already had the lead. Simonton’s Randy Anderson-tuned alcohol Funny Car left hard with the front wheels in the air, leading her towards the left retaining wall.
Simonton Starting 2014 with New Mindset, New Sponsors
CHARLOTTE, NC – Canadian Top Alcohol Funny Car team Kon Rodz Racing is preparing for its fifth season with fan-favorite 
driver Cassie Simonton. Also back with the team is veteran crew chief Randy Anderson, who won the 1993 and 1994 TAFC world titles as a driver. Kon Rodz has spent the last month preparing their red, black, and white Monte Carlo, which will hit the track at Valdosta testing next week.
“We’ve been at the North Carolina shop for the last couple weeks, preparing the car and stocking the trailer full of parts. Randy arrived this week to help make sure everything is ready for testing at the beginning of next week. He also worked on some new ideas for the fuel system over the winter that we’re excited to test,” said Simonton, who lives in Brownsburg, Ind.
Simonton Closing 2013 Season at Carolina Nationals
CONCORD, NC – Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Cassie Simonton returns to Charlotte’s zMax Dragway this weekend to chase a NHRA Wally for the last time in 2013. The Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals will be the last race for Simonton and her Kon Rodz Racing team before beginning their offseason preparations for the 2014 season.
“We chose to end our season at Charlotte for a variety of reasons. We have always run well at zMax Dragway; the team’s career-best numbers were set here last year. We want to end our season with another record performance, and maybe a win. Additonally, the Charlotte area is home to many passionate race fans and automotive enthusiasts, our sponsors’ core demographic. What better way to cap off the season than with a solid performance in front of our sponsors and their customers,” said Stefan Kontos, team president.
Simonton Takes a Wild Ride at Indy
CLERMONT, IN – Top Alcohol Funny Car fan favorite Cassie Simonton suffered a close first round loss at last weekend’s 59th Annual 
Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis. She was able to continue her SK Racing Monte Carlo’s streak of full passes into the final qualifying session where she went on a wild ride in an effort to improve in qualifying position.
Cassie’s Randy-Anderson tuned car was one of the most consistent through qualifying, running 5.702, 5.691, and 5.695 in the first three sessions.
“We had a consistent car all weekend,” Cassie said. “We were the No. 4 qualifier until the last session when I had a bit of a wild ride. We weren’t able to get down the track during the fast conditions so we were bumped down to tenth place.”
Simonton Hoping to Follow Crew Chief Anderson with U.S. Nationals Victory
CLERMONT, IN – Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Cassie Simonton will end a two-month break in on-track action when she hops back in 
the Kon Rodz Racing entry at the 59th Annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, August 30-Sept. 2. Though Simonton and the Ontario, Canada-based team last competed at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk in early July, they have spent weeks preparing for the prestigious “Big Go”.
“A few of the crew members and I have been in Indy for a couple weeks, preparing parts for the weekend. We also installed several new carbon fiber pieces from Aerodine Composites Group. The boys have been back in Canada working on Spiro’s hot rods. I moved to Indy so I’ve been here working out with Cam (team clutch technician and NCAA All-American wrestler) getting myself ready for this race. I’ve been hitting the practice tree, making sure I’m ready after two months out of the car,” Cassie said of the team’s U.S. Nationals preparations.
Simonton Falls to Manzo Early at Norwalk
NORWALK, OH – Top Alcohol Funny Car favorite Cassie Simonton ended a busy month of racing with another top eight qualifying 
position and round win at the 7th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Though Simonton and her Randy Anderson-led team anticipated better results, the weekend wasn’t considered a loss.
“We were going into the race hoping we would have the same success as we did last year,” said Simonton, who reached the finals at this event last year. “We went out second round, but we can’t really get upset about it. We raced the best of the best and we gave them a good race. The car is running consistently – it’s been down the track eighteen consecutive runs without any tire shake or problems. Now we’re just working really hard on running faster so we can qualify better and win more rounds.”
The Spiro Kontos-owned team worked with just two qualifying sessions to get the KonRodzRacing.com Monte Carlo solidly into the field. Periodic rain storms teased the teams all weekend long, leading to one qualifying session on Friday and one on Saturday. Simonton established a baseline 5.71 in the first session, then stepped up to 5.67 in the final session to take the No. 7 spot heading into first round of eliminations against Brian Harvanek.
Drag Racing Odyssey Continues for Todd Robertson’s Eaton Backed TA/FC Team
Harrison TWP, MI – The last three weeks have been a blur for Top Alcohol Funny Car Racer Todd Robertson and his Eaton backed 
TA/Flopper. This weekend will mark three races in a row, one divisional and two nationals. With only one day home in the last 22 days Robertson is looking to the 7th annual Summit Racing equipment NHRA Nationals for some form of a payoff.
“It’s been a tough few weeks and we’ve learned a lot of what NOT to do and hurt some pretty expensive parts along the way but, thanks to some great people our team is associated with like Darren Mayer of DMPE, based in Stevesville, Michigan and Steve Sanchez of Total Flow Cylinder Heads, based in Troy Michigan” says Robertson.
Simonton’s New Kon Rodz TAFC Wins Best Engineered Car at Chicago
JOLIET, IL – Canadian Top Alcohol Funny Car team Kon Rodz Racing enjoyed their best 2013 national event to date at the O’Reilly 
Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals near Chicago. Cassie Simonton qualified the new-look Kon Rodz Monte Carlo in the top half of the field and won a round before falling in a tight second round pairing to eventual winner Annie Whiteley. The team was also rewarded with the Best Engineered Car of the event.
Simonton drove the Randy Anderson-tuned entry to steadily improving E.T.s through qualifying, stepping up from a 5.70 to 5.63 and finally a 5.59 to rank the Kon Rodz TAFC No. 4 in the qualifying order that included allstar competitors from around the country.
The KonRodzRacing.com car improved yet again during first round of eliminations, running 5.58/256 MPH to take out Ray Drew’s 5.66. That lined Simonton up with one of the other female TAFC pilots, Annie Whiteley. Cassie laid down another strong pass, 5.611, but Whiteley was just a few thousandths quicker at 5.606. Annie went on to win the event.
